Antique Brass Buckle Cuff Bracelet

Antique Brass Buckle Cuff Bracelet

This cuff features a segment from an ornate, gilded metal woman's cummerbund meant to adorn a belt, and dates from the 1910's-'20's era. The piece is heavy cast brass with a slightly darkened finish and embellished with tiny rhinestone rondelles. It is attached to an upcycled brown leather cuff.

This bracelet features handwoven, oxidized sterling chainmaille and a focal antique rhinestone shoe buckle, circa 1930. Inside the oval rhinestone frame of the buckle is a pierced floral motif. A vintage glass button, intended for use as an eye for a child's toy dangles from the end of the bracelet.

This bracelet features handwoven, oxidized sterling chainmaille and a focal antique rhinestone shoe buckle, circa 1930. A vintage button used as a eye for a child's toy dangles from the end of the bracelet.

This necklace features an oval, antique cut steel shoe buckle, converted to a pendant, on handwoven, oxidized sterling silver chainmaille. The buckle, circa late 19th century, is 2 1/2" in at its widest and 1 3/4" high.

Details

18" long

one-of-a-kind

Materials

sterling silver lobster clasp

oxidized sterling silver jump rings

antique cut steel shoe buckle

Origin Story

Cut steel jewelry gained popularity in France during the 18th century when King Louis demanded that citizens turn in their diamonds to help fund war efforts. This type of jewelry features tiny faceted and polished steel studs carved to mimic diamonds and individually riveted in place. Similar in appearance to marcasite, cut steels sparkle brilliantly when polished. Pieces can be dated by looking at the size of the cut steels, which were individually hand-riveted, and the number of facets. Older buckles feature smaller studs with as many as 15 facets. Cut steel jewelry fell out of fashion in the early 20th century when production quality declined and other trends emerged.